Slayer’s Wrestling and Stuff!
Hi Everybody! Welcome to another edition of Slayer’s Wrestling and Stuff!
Today we have a very very very special guest by the name of Rob Blatt who is FAMOUS for his Blat vs. ECW columns. We do a DVD review TOGETHER more specifically the old school ECW Path of Destruction. If all goes well, there will be more in the future, if it sucks hey, what’s worth trying is worth doing, right?
Dave
Dave is a good friend and a wrestling buddy. We go to wrestling events together. We’ve been to them all: Nitro, RAW, SNME, Smackdown, ECW (the old and the new), ROH, and random indie stuff that happens in the New York Metropolitan Area..also known as NYMA.
Ok, I made NYMA up but I’m sort of falling in love with it. I am so starting a NEW GEOGRPAHICAL ACRONYM! SOON EVERYBODY WILL SAY NYMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think we need the inebriations to ware off .give me a few minutes
K .I think I’m better anyway Dave and Myself are wrestling FANS!! Dave and I also go to PPV parties. Over the past several years, we have seen our wrestling friends go from Fans such as ourselves to IWC neurotic hateful emotional masochists such as .well probably like you reading this.
Now, it’s been awhile since I went to one of the PPV parties due to other obligations and comas, but it seems to be getting worse. Take a look at a AIM conversation..abridged for your sanity
Me: All Hail King Booker..The Champion of Champions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave: LOL! I love King Booker but everyone else at the Party hats him.
Me: Why? It’s hilarious. He’s the best cheesy villain since Million Dollar Man.
Dave: Yeah I don’t know they were all laughing yet at the same time say they hate the gimmick.
Wow .having a good time from a gimmick and saying they hate the gimmick. These people are starting to get the Wrestling Madness.. Click on it if you don’t know what it is.
Things were getting really bad about 7 months ago shortly after the Royal Rumble.
We were emailing each other back and forth to set up to go to SummerSlam.
In the middle of that I get this from him
did you see raw last night?
i loved it. except for everyone at steves ruining all my favorite parts. there all still pissed that taker won.
So I responded
Why they are pissed? After a thousand years, give the guy a rumble win for crying out loud. And for the only time outside WM 13, the Undertaker is the main event as opposed to doing the dragon-slayer thing. So tell them to put that in their pipes and smoke it :)
So he said .
dont know i think there afraid to like the same guys they did as a kid although they were all happy that hbk won. ive given up trying to understand them you need to make it to a ppv there again soon so im not the only one there that actully enjoys watching it cause its fun.
Also, I decided i hate smokers now including you cause everyone goes out on to the fire escape to smoke and when they do a huge gust of cold wind comes in right behind me so go f*ck yourself.
What a pal .
Anyway, so now my poor friend can’t even enjoy wrestling with the pleasure of good company because there is no good company anymore as they’ve turned into a wrestling forum .*shudder*
Private Stuff you might enjoy
.please don’t hate me but you guys need to be cured. Also, that girl you all hate she is a ho. She IMed me some time ago and I wanted to smack my monitor. And neither her or the Layne Staley wannabee can sing for shit. When they have duets, birds and plantlife die.
End Private Stuff
Ok .I have a problem
This whole thing with and Dave and my PPV buddies..it was leading somewhere .and I forgot where I’m still wasted..let me watch the replay of Red Sox/Yankees and sober up .
Ok, Im back.
And the Yankees won so I’m happy. And I’m a little more sober now that I’m thinking a little more clearer (that grammar goes out to Gloomchen and Eric) I realized what I was gonna do. Basically, bash every column that came out this week.
Sound fun, right?
Well no I’m not gonna do that. Listen, for whatever reason the commentary around here was ultra-negative this week hell, even our news reports are becoming biased negative commentaries. Just best to ignore it.
Oh, and a something about CM Punk. He IS an asshole. How do I know this? Because all staright-edge guys assholes. How do I know this? You don’t want to know.
But trust me, when a bunch of Straight Edge Nazis beat up some poor slob because he was getting high at a concert, and this poor slob is a stupid kid from your neighborhood and you gotta protect the turf and you have a huge brawl with these Nazis, and watch them whimper and run away like the pussies they are? Nothing is finer .ohhh the memories ..
And that my friends was the TMI of the Week! Thank you very much. *takes a bow*
However, I like CM Punk. He’s just gotta stop acting like a 15 year old wannabe hard-core kid and learn how to actually wrestle and he’ll be A-OK!
So as stated, it’s best ignore most of the stuff out there. Back in my Sports Zone days, we always bashed each others columns. It was fun! But that’s what sport fans do! The IWC ehhhhhhhhh a little more sensitive.
Now let’s all sing Bob Marley and give each other a BIG HUG.
Let’s get on with this .
SLAYER’S 20 FAVORITE WRESTLERS AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME
No Edge, No HBK, No Undertaker which means this is a good chance for some other wrestlers to take over my cerebral. Actually, they’ve been starting to show Undertaker videos which mark me out like I was 7 years old so I guess that counts.
1) King Booker
2) Randy Orton
3) Undertaker
4) Chavo
5) HHH
6) Matt Hardy
7) MVP
8) John Cena
9) Mr. Kennedy
10) Umaga
11) Ric Flair
12) Santino Marella
13) Jeff Hardy
14) Hornswoggle
15) Finlay
16) John Morrison
17) Mysterio
18) Cryme Time
19) Carlito
20) Kane
Slayer’s Favorite Announce Team:
Jim Ross and Tazz (they did it once, but I really liked it)
Slayer’s Favorite Non-Wrestling Performer:
William Regal
No one in TNA made my top 20. Yet none of them made my bottom 5 either man, talk about indifference. Are we surprised? Oh WWE, just hire Homicide already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SLAYER’S FIVE LEAST FAVORITE WRESTLERS AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME
5) Eugene
4) Big Daddy V
3) Snitsky
2) Khali
1) Chris Benoit
Hey look, no Batista. Yup, for the first time in perhaps 18 months I don’t mind him so much. Way to go Dave!
Let’s do a DVD review!
ECW PATH OF DESTRUCTION
(That was the biggest pic I could find..ok??????!!!???)
Slayer: Everyone welcome Blatt! How you doing?
Blatt: Hello everyone. It smells like divas in here.
Slayer: Living ones and dead ones!
Blatt: That’s gross. I like it here!
Slayer: So let’s get to the DVD Path of Destruction.
Blatt: This was one of the Pioneer releases by ECW after they went bankrupt
Much like all of the DVD re-releases by Pioneer, all of the entrances and music have been cut out because Heyman and ECW never acquired the music. I’m sure it was a nice way to make some money, but it gets kinda annoying to not see any entrances or have them without any music.
Slayer: Except for covers by Motorhead (Sandman) and Killgore (RVD) and Death Row was kind enough to lend Natural Born Killers to New Jack’s matches…but that doesn’t apply here. Anyway, I agree with you. It takes a lot of the magic away from ECW itself. Which is why this is probably gonna be the first of a repeated pattern of these DVDs not being able to ring in any new fans as opposed to nostalgia for old fans
Blatt: This was the same problem that we had with the One Night Stand release from the WWE. The music was dubbed over with some generic metal. It’s also going to be difficult for any fans to get their hands on this disc, as it’s not really available in most stores.
Slayer: I tell everyone to get an illegal copy of that PPV but don’t tell WWE I said that. And no, it’s not worth it anymore since almost all these matches can be found on other DVDs. Especially this one in particular
Blatt: If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you’re in luck because this disc and all of Pioneer releases are available through Netflix.
Slayer: Nice info! Plus, as we gab about the matches, Ill also state where they can be found in current WWE releases.
Blatt: sweet
Slayer: Let’s get to the first match!
Four-Way Match for TV Championship
Champion: Chris Jericho vs. Challengers: 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Pitbull #2 w/Francine vs. Shane Douglas (7/13/96) Available on Bloodsport DVD
Slayer: I will open up by saying this four-way is unarguably one of the best matches ever in ECW .unless you wanna argue.
Blatt: I agree that it’s at the top of the list of ECW matches, but I wouldn’t rate it as the tops.
Slayer: Fair enough! For whatever reason, I’ve watched this match maybe ten times and I could watch it ten more. Perhaps the overall mythology had something to do it as we see Francine’s heel turn which would turn her into a STAR
Blatt: In 1996, this match was mind blowing. It absolutely stands the test of time, and in recent years I think it’s history is cemented as what a four way match can look like.
Slayer: So the DVD starts off nicely…
Blatt: Absolutely. Like you said, this is one of the all time best ECW matches.
TV Championship
Champion: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Challenger: RVD (4/4/98) Available on One of a Kind DVD
Blatt: This began Rob Van Dam’s TV title reign that would take him up until his injury 23 months later
Slayer: Again, another match that is vital to the overall ECW mythology…and it’s a good match too. These two contrasting styles somehow put on an exciting match which is a credit to both guys.
Blatt: It also contains one of my favorite spots that RVD has ever done
Slayer: He had about 97 in this one…which one?
Blatt: The dive into the crowd onto your opponent was something that ECW embraced as something that was as ECW as the chairshot.
Slayer: I agree! So far so good…
Blatt: Bam Bam was a very important part of ECW
Slayer: His presence helped legitimize the talent, no doubt about it.
Blatt: I think that the veterans that helped build ECW are often glossed over as one of those things that helped make it legitimate in a lot of people’s eyes.
Slayer: His leaving also is one of the reasons that ECW started to die, as he left with a chip on his shoulder against Paul Heyman and this led to the other wrestlers to question their loyalty to Paul.
Blatt: What was the reason he left?
Slayer: He felt Paul Heyman’s vision wouldn’t work in the context of Paul running everything and not catering to at least a few mainstream wrestling crowds.
Blatt: Makes sense why Bam Bam would leave ECW as a monster and go to WCW as The Bam Bam that left the WWE.
Slayer: He is quoted as telling Paul, “this shit ain’t worth it anymore” i.e. killing yourself for a small paycheck, and he told several of the other wrestlers that as well.
Blatt: The Bam Bam that fought Lawrence Taylor
Slayer: His claim to fame…there could be worse…
Blatt: That’s true.
Slayer: let’s get to the gross stuff
Stairway to Hell Match
Sandman vs. Sabu (1/10/98)
Slayer: So we finally got to a match that isn’t available anywhere else (yet) and is a semi-classic. Barbed Wire on top of a ladder
Blatt: It’s an interesting idea for a match. This plays to a bigger theme of the time in wrestling. :A lot of these weapons oriented matches might have been brutal, but there was always a spot that ended the match. Eventually, those spots weren’t match enders. This match was an example of this idea. The barbed wire would end the match. Unlike the later years of ECW, where you could wrap yourself in barbed wire and rub yourself all over your opponent and that’ll only get a two .TWO!
Slayer: Good point. Another thing was that Sabu and Sandman were THE hard-core icons
Blatt: Very true.
Slayer: A match of these two together was a dream match…they had to go over the top. Also, ECW usually didn’t get too bloody like this in the latter half of their existence, so this match was quite shocking even then.
Blatt: Correct me if I’m wrong, but Sabu broke his jaw during the match. And the crazy bastard fixed it with duct tape.
Slayer: Sabu is always breaking and taping something in every match. His most famous one is the Barbed Wire match against Terry Funk, where he ripped every capillary in his arm and bandaged it up
Taipei Death Match
Ian Rotten vs. Axl Rotten (7/1/95) Available on Bloodsport
Slayer: Fighting with broken pieces of glass glued on taped fists what a concept!
Blatt: Ugh. This one takes a strong stomach.: This match is the idea of lunacy. By puling Fonzie into the refereeing position in the beginning of this one, they managed to pull multiple angles into one match.
Slayer: Yes, this was during the very fun Fonzie Era which gives some necessary entertainment before the gore-fest. It’s ridiculous, but it’s stuff like this that gave ECW it’s reputation.
Blatt: Indeed. This one is slow to start, but once Fonzie is out of the way and the run ins are contained, this thing gets gross. You can see that Axl and Ian are different guys by their entrances too. Axl poses for the cameras, Ian just kinda comes into the ring and walks around.
Slayer: Which is why Ian wouldn’t lat too long and Axl became part of the very Tag Team with Balls
Blatt: This one’s short on the technical wrestling, but it’s a Taipei Death Match. Do they glue glass to their hands in Taipei?
Slayer: Are you gonna make me google Taipei since honestly I have no idea where it is.
Blatt: haha, you could just say no that no sane person would ever, eeeever glue glass to their hands
Slayer: Is it China or Taiwan?
Blatt: China. Taipei is known for it’s tea exporting in the 1800’s.
Slayer: Ahhh…good ole Wikipedia
Blatt: yup
Slayer: Now we get to the Rasslin
Three Way Dance
Jerry Lynn vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy (11/7/99) POD Exclusive so far
Blatt: This kinda action is what ECW got a reputation for and is remembered for when you think of the fast paced action. ECW had become more refined with their action and production.
Slayer: There is nothing not to like about this match…it’s good whole cleansome fun for the whole family to enjoy! And you get to see Tajiri and Super-Crazy not be held back by racial stereotypes…what a concept!
Blatt: I have to agree. these are three guys not particularly known for their “hardcore” action. Just good old fashioned wrestling. Also to see Jerry Lynn not being overshadowed by Rob Van Dam.
Slayer: To be honest, Lynn had plenty of chances to capitalize and blew it…just wasn’t hungry enough.
2 out of 3 Falls Match
Eddie Guererro vs. Dean Malenko (8/26/95) Available on the Eddie Guerrero Cheating Death DVD
Blatt: Here are two legends before anyone knew it.
Slayer: I hate “going away” matches
Blatt: Then you must really hate this one
Slayer: I do. But it’s a great match…don’t let my own post-ECW depression deter anyone It’s just that they became a “tradition†in ECW as there was one every month. This was the first big one, so it was special, but after awhile it was like “ok, go already.â€Â
Blatt: ECW never pulled punches when it came to people leaving the company. you could say that it was being transparent with their fans, or you could say that it was creative laziness. I kinda wish that someone would have won the match.
Slayer: Paul always had something up his sleeve, the people always went home happy…a new wrestler…an old wrestler coming back…etc
Blatt: Right, this was also a beautiful way for these guys to have one last hurrah.
Slayer: actually 24/7’s latetest ECW episode was the aftermath of this match…no, they didn’t pay me to say that
Blatt: Haha. I’ll take some cash if they want.
Lucha Libre Match
Psychosis vs. Rey, Rey (9/16/95) available on the Rise and Fall DVD
Slayer: If I may rant .
Blatt: go ahead
Slayer: Does Rey Mysterio need to be in EVERY ECW DVD EVER! HE WAS IN THE COMPANY FOR THREE MONTHS!……….Three Months!!!….And both ECW, then WWE completely revised history and made him this ECW Veteran that ECW brought to America and ECW did not bring Mysterio to America Konan did! end rant
Blatt: I was going to mention that Styles credits this match as bringing both guys AND the Lucha style to America. He does credit Konnan during the match as the guy who helped bring these guys over.
Slayer: actually…no….it was WCW. They had a deal with AAA. They came one for some random PPV called When World Coldie which was co-promoted by WCW and AAA.
Blatt: Interesting factoid there.
Slayer: Heyman saw it and THEN brought the AAA in ECW. And THEN WCW stole them a couple months later.Yes, ECW was the first American company to give Mexican guys Wrestling Angles….I will give Paul that.
Blatt: Well, WCW simply acquired as many of the AAA wrestlers as they could after they saw that there was a market for these things in the US.
Slayer: Yes…and they got awarded by being darted into trucks by Kevin Nash and jobbing to Syxx
Blatt: Well, SOMEONE had to have that done to them. Anyway, this match was one hell of a ride.
Slayer: its Rey/Psychosis…Nuff Said really
Blatt: Well, it’s Rey/Psychosis in 1995.
Slayer: and this is during the time when they were both young and willing to kill themselves
Blatt: Absolutely. The impact of the match was immense.
Slayer: Let’s go to the Extras! We’ll ignore the Biographies written by some IWC writer.
Blatt: Of course the IWC writer is Mike Johnson
Slayer: Do you wanna link him as well?
Blatt: no, screw him
Slayer: hahahaha
Blatt: ECW “Historian” Eff that guy
Slayer: they are not even Fun to read…or even accurate…best to ignore
Blatt: Normally on these DVDs they’ll include a match history, not the case with this one
Slayer: Several funny interviews that are a moment’s long…but two AWESOME . First, the Steve Austin promo is GOLD
Blatt: absolutely. Austin was really driven in this time and Heyman gave him a mic and a camera. This promo was important for his career because it helped launch the Stone Cold character
Slayer: One of the great hidden treasures of wrestling. Basically, for you young kids this is the transformation of Stunning Steve Austin to Stone Cold Steve Austin
Blatt: Being fired by WCW and the politics that occurred really changed his outlook on things, this was his way of letting all of that out. Turns out people loved that side of him.
Slayer: what boggles me to this day is after his great little run in ECW, McMahon and Russo made him a mute for his first few months…but thats a tangent. The last thing is unfortunately an Easter Egg..but it’s PLATINUM. Go to Biographies press Right twice. And we have the Brian Pillman infamous “Smart Mark” promo. This alone is worth the price of the DVD (unless its really expensive). Most of you will have no idea what’s happening.
So, Brian Pillman outed Kevin Sullivan as the Booker of WCW. This was a huge NO-NO back in 1995. He also almost re-injured Bobby Heenan’s neck. So he was suspended by Bischoff. This was real. However, the media clipping said he was fired. This was a work. Basically, the point was Pillman was to go on Talk Radio and indie wrestling promotions to say bad things about WCW and create a “dangerous character”. The thing backfired…because he really went overboard…this appearance at ECW being one of them…: and soon he really did get fired. Most think Pillman was trying to get fired so he could go to WWF but who knows. However…the DVD tells you none of this. If you didn’t know anything about Pillman…you would enjoy his antics but have no clue what is going on.
Blatt: You’ve gotta watch the Loose Cannon DVD to find out all this info.
Slayer: How is that DVD?
Blatt: Great
Slayer: So wrapping things up…these pioneer DVDs are hard to give a rating to. Most of these promos and matches can be seen on other DVDs. And now for a DVD to be considered “good†it has to be like 20 hours long. But at the time…this DVD was a Must-Have for any ECW fan.
Blatt: I think it still is for the variety of matches. It’s a great primer for people who want to jump back into ECW 1.0 that aren’t familiar with it.
Slayer: I agree At then end, not one bad match, two classic promos, and some misc. funny stuff.if it was 2001, I would give this DVD a Pulse Rating of an 8 ..if it was 2001. In 2007, I give it a solid 6.5. What say you?
Blatt: I think it rates higher for me as a standalone piece of history. With a seemingly never ending amount of DVDs coming from the E that exploit ECW’s archives, it’s difficult to give it a proper rating, but I’m going to give it an 8 because I think that it’s enjoyable throughout.
Slayer: Yeah, this is one of my favorite DVDs., no doubt about it. So it gets an
OFFICIAL PULSE RATING OF 7.5
Blatt: Solid.
Slayer: I know its actually 7.25…but that’s ridiculous
Blatt: haha
Slayer: Well, that was fun!
Blatt: indeed!
Slayer: We should do it again sometime! Now I have lots of editing to do!
Blatt: thanks for inviting me along
Slayer: No problem…I hope this was more fun for you then watching Impact
Blatt: absolutely, that show is shitty lately
Slayer: hahahaha! I’m leaving that as your final words in the column
Blatt: add this to that. “Fuck Vince Russo.”
And now .
A SPECIAL CEREMONY WITH KING BOOKAH!!!!!!!!!
Inside Pulse hosted a special ceremony as King Booker was a given a Major Award for being officially named Slayer’s Favorite Wrestler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! King Booker tried his best to hold back tears.
King Booker: First off, I would like to thank the readers of Slayer’s Wrestling and Stuff. For it wasn’t for them and their prayers, I would not have become Champion of Champions. While I realize I will now slowly be put back in the mid-card of RAW and be asked to put over Cody Rhodes, I am thankful for my Championship Run which made for some great PPVs and helped bring Smackdown back to prominence if I may say so myself. Being Champion of Champions solidified me as one of the best wrestlers in the past 15 years if again..i say so myself Would you like to say anything my Queen?
Queen Sharmell: There is no Dana, only Zuul!
King Booker: Exactly! So in my hand I have a sample of Slayer’s written work and I would like to read it.
Howver, it sucks. I never read a column so disjointed and pointless in my life. He is an insult to InsidePulse. However, I like his Mistress Pictures.
And now Instead of Diva Action I would like to pay tribute to Nancy Daus aka Woman, one of the greats. (pssss .you can see her back in her Fallen Angel Days in this month’s 24/7 episode of CWF)
SO LONG NANCY
I have yet to say my piece on the double murder/suicide. What can I say? Another example of finding a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
But if I may be selfish for a moment .
Chris Benoit ruined my wrestling world.
All the tapes and DVDs of Chris Benoit matches .. RUNIED!
Spending HALF OF LIFE rooting for the guy RUINED!
I mean in a greater context, the Archives of the Past 15 years of Wrestling are FOREVER FUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Benoit has more or less been the Cornerstone of Professional Wrestling, very rarely would a month go by where he wouldn’t have a Match of The Century. And he was beloved. By his peers and the fans.
All gone now.
Seeing dead people on wrestling archives is one thing, as a wrestling fan, we’re used to it. Seeing murderers is another ballgame….
The end of Wrestlemania XX was the greatest moment in the history of Professional Wrestling. Bar None.
Now, FOREVER FUCKED AND RUINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have rooted for the guy, cheered for the guy, participated in 5 minute standing ovations over him, and even cried for him.
YEAH, I CRIED AT THE END OF WRESTLEMANIA XX OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a waste of tears…
I also masturbated to Nancy Daus many times…especially in her ECW days. Those were not a waste.
So long Nancy see ya in the next life.
You are more then welcome to email me HERE Clicking on the bottom will send it to thin air
